The challenge of militancy

The Centre has displayed scant concern for the current phase of extremist violence in Tripura.

KALYAN CHAUDHURI

THE Disturbed Areas Act was invoked in Tripura in early 1997 following a spate of murders and kidnappings by militant tribal groups, but violence has continued unabated in the State. In the past two months, the tension has escalated, particularly in the hilly interiors of the State. Since August 15, members of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) have killed 32 persons including Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Anil Baidya, and kidnapped 28 persons.

On September 8, NLFT militants opened fire on a bus at Aloycherra in south Tripura, injuring 12 persons. Ten persons were kidnapped. Earlier, on August 29, eight casual labourers who worked for the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) were killed and eight others were wounded when the vehicle they were travelling in came under NLFT fire at Sibbari in Dhalai district. Four persons have been missing. These attacks show that the militant organisations, which earlier targeted security forces, have changed their strategy and started killing unarmed civilians. The same day, the ATTF abducted two non-tribal persons from the East Singicherra market under the Khowai police station. Two Bengalis, who were abducted a day earlier, remain untraced.

On August 24, three persons, including Kajal Debbarma, a 15-year-old cricketer, were killed at Champaknagar when NLFT militants fired indiscriminately on a bus carrying members of the Noabadi women's cricket and football teams and their supporters. They were returning after tournaments were organised in memory of the assassinated CPI(M) leader, Khirode Debbarma. Debbarma, winner of a national award for forging unity between the tribal and non-tribal people, was killed by NLFT militants on July 9, 1997. Twelve passengers were injured in the firing. The assailants also abducted forester R. Dey and two forest guards, Jadugopal Debnath and Purna Debbarma.

Five non-tribal employees of the Narendrapur tea estate were killed in Sadar subdivision on August 16. Police sources said that a group of 35 militants stormed the tea estate and directed the workers, who had gathered to collect their salaries, not to move from the spot. The militants then entered the office, shot and killed five employees, and left with Rs.1,18,000. The Tea Association of India (TAI) has threatened to close down 13 of the 23 tea estates in west Tripura unless security is ensured. On August 15, NLFT rebels ambushed a State Transport Corporation bus at Kanchanpur in north Tripura and killed six passengers.

The bullet-ridden body of Anil Baidya was found floating in a pond in the Bathanbari area seven days after he was abducted along with a CPI(M) supporter, Khetra Nama, by NLFT militants on August 15. Nama's fate was unknown. On August 13, NLFT militants killed two CPI(M) leaders, Prem Singh Oraon and his brother-in-law Ratiya Oraon, at Promode Nagar.

EXPRESSING concern over the escalating insurgency, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar attributed it to the inadequacy in the number of security forces in the State. Although the Centre acknowledged the need for additional forces in the State, no additional deployment had been made, he said.

All political parties share the view that the Centre is unconcerned about the current phase of extremist violence in Tripura. Indeed, New Delhi seems to have decided not to send additional forces or assure the State that deployment of security forces would be maintained at the same level as during the last Assembly elections. Forces withdrawn after the elections for election duty elsewhere are yet to return. Union Home Minister L.K. Advani did not visit Tripura during his recent tour of northeastern States, although a visit to the relatively peaceful Meghalaya was part of his itinerary. To demonstrate their power, militant tribal organisations in Tripura indulged in murders and abductions before or after Advani's tour.

SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.

Manik Sarkar said that the situation in some interior areas of the State was grim. Groups such as the NLFT and the ATTF run parallel administrations in the hill areas where the development process has come to a standstill. These groups, which hold sway in these areas, have stepped up activities such as extortions. Government employees, businessmen, contractors, tribal chiefs and tribal and non-tribal people are forced to contribute to their kitty.

The Opposition Congress(I) and its ally, the Tripura Upjati Juba Samity (TUJS), moved a no-confidence motion in the Assembly on August 24 against the CPI(M)-led Left Front Government, which, according to them, had failed to "protect the lives and property of innocent people". The Opposition parties said that "having created totally anarchic conditions all over the State, the Left Front Government has lost its moral right to continue in power." The motion, the first against the Manik Sarkar Government, was defeated. In the 60-member House, the Left Front has 41 members, the Congress 13, the TUJS four and the Tripura National Volunteers one. There is one independent legislator.

During the five-hour discussion on the motion, the Chief Minister said that at least 641 people, including State Health Minister Bimal Sinha and his brother, several CPI(M) leaders and security personnel, had been killed since the Left Front returned to power in April 1993. Painting a grim picture of the escalating insurgency, he told the Assembly that 1,199 people, including politicians, officials, traders, students and teachers in the hill areas, were kidnapped during this period. Many hostages were killed while others were released after the payment of huge ransoms.

In a reversal of its earlier stand, the Left Front is prepared to accept the Centre's proposal to use stringent legal provisions to curb insurgency. While making a statement in the Rajya Sabha on April 1 following the assassination of Health Minister Bimal Sinha, Advani suggested that the State Government consider invoking laws such as the National Security Act. Referring to the CPI(M)-led State Government's reluctance to implement such laws, he said: "We are also conscious about the question of individual liberty, but it should never mean that we shall compromise on the issue of national security." He added that Parliament had enacted the NSA with the prime objective of dealing with the situation effectively in the insurgency-prone areas.

When asked about Advani's proposal recently, CPI(M) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet said: "The State Government is prepared to take any tough measure in the interest of ethnic harmony and regional integrity in view of Tripura's present situation."

The Chief Minister has also said that his Government would not object to any militant organisation negotiating directly with the Centre. He said: "We are prepared to extend all cooperation in this regard."

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